The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Cary should be read to figure out when it's possible to plant watermelon.

Planting Calendar for Watermelon

Frost tolerance for watermelon:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Since watermelon do not do well in cold weather it is important to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant watermelon in Cary is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant watermelon and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your watermelon may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your watermelon indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Cary the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Cary is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Cary last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your watermelon if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Cary

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Cary

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Cary.